Of Flames and Fallacies by Courtney Whims

Here is a summary with spoilers for Of Flames and Fallacies by Courtney Whims

We meet Katerina during a dragon attack on her town, something that has not happened in years. Dragons are a plague on the land, at least for most people. There are some rebels out in the land who think dragons and humans should live together. But Kat has bigger problems—her mother, who is not able to function without her. As Kat goes to check on her mom, she starts to think about how run-down her life is. No father, a dead brother, a mother who can’t function, no money or job, and the man she cared most for, Cole—she denied his betrothal, and now he is serving in the army. She truly feels alone.

While out trying to fish, Kat finds a gem in the water. She decides it looks rare enough to trade in town. When she goes to a seller, Williard, who is an old friend, he tells her to get rid of the gem and not to tell anyone about it. Instead, Kat takes it home, and, exhausted, she falls asleep. When she wakes, the house is on fire, and her mother is frantically talking and handing her things. Kat is so surprised to hear her mother talking normally that she doesn’t register what she is saying. But she eventually understands that her mom said, “Take her to the Dragon Lands and find Cole.” Her mother hands her a bag, pushes her out the door, and the house collapses on her, killing her. Kat runs far away.

Exhausted in the forest, Kat falls asleep, only to have a small creature wake her up. A baby dragon is around her, and for some reason, she knows that the dragon’s name is Daeja. Along with the satchel her mother gave her is a journal from Leland Blackwind, her father. It turns out her father was one of the rebels, and he created a comprehensive study on dragons. Kat starts to read it.

Katerina continues her journey to find Cole and then on to the Dragon Lands. On the way, she runs into a small city that is being destroyed by rebels. Kat tries to help save some innocents and even makes her first-ever kill, but it doesn’t stop the rebels, and Kat doesn’t save as many as she wanted. She goes back to the forest with Daeja and is devastated.

Kat wanders the forest, working with Daeja, including a unique ability to disappear. Kat finally makes it to the camp where Cole is. Her first glimpse of the man she loved shows him fighting a man named Darien in a pit. She loves watching him, and he even wins. She realizes that Cole is high up in the ranks thanks to his fighting skills. That night, Kat finds a way to talk to Cole, but he is drunk and can’t believe she is there. He passes out on his bed, but in the morning they are able to talk. Cole tells her it has been three months since her mother’s death, and Kat is assumed dead as well. Kat introduces him to Daeja, and Cole realizes how much trouble Kat is in, especially now that she is in a military camp that is against dragons—and she has one with her. They quickly come up with a plan so Kat can stay. She and Cole are going to pretend to be brother and sister. Kat gets a job working with a healer named Margie.

Katerina gets her own room, but Daeja is quickly outgrowing it, so she finds a place for her in the forest where she can stretch and play all day. One night, Kat goes to visit Daeja, and she is learning how to fly and breathe fire. In the process, Kat and Daeja get bonded. Kat now has a tattoo mark of the bond, and the two can communicate with their minds.

Back in the camp, Cole and Kat continue to play the game of “we are siblings,” even though they both really want to be with each other. Kat also gets to know Archie, a good friend of Cole’s. And Darien, who she keeps having run-ins with, even though she thinks he is rude and a jerk. She learns that Darien has always had a temper and should have been given the command Cole has, but the king himself said he couldn’t handle it. Still, the army doesn’t want to let him go, as he is one of the best fighters they have. All throughout her time, she reads her dad’s journal as well. In one entry, she learns that Queen Elara was killed by the now ruler, King Aaric, and that the queen had liked living with the dragons. Kat is interrupted while reading by news of a mandatory meeting, which turns out to be an execution of two rebels who are dragon sympathizers.

Margie and Kat go out into the forest to collect ingredients. While out there, Margie finds a dragon print. Cole is then summoned to go look. It’s not Daeja’s print, as it is too big. Cole says they need to make a plan, but he keeps insisting that Kat let Daeja go figure out how to get to the Dragon Lands by herself and that Kat stay with him. Kat refuses, no matter how much he tries to convince her. When she gets back to her room, she finds Margie with her father’s journal. Margie knows, but instead of turning her in, she says she wants to go to the Dragon Lands with Kat. That night, Kat is forced to burn her father’s journal to keep all their secrets safe.

One day, there is an attack on the camp, and they end up grabbing Kat and almost killing her. She is only saved by quick-thinking Archie. Cole hates that she was almost hurt and allows her to start training. Even though she is scrappy, the only person she can truly fight and learn from is Darien, as he is the only one willing to go hard on her, even if he does taunt her as well. Eventually, as Kat starts to feel more like herself, she goes to Cole and tells him she loves him. The two share their first kiss in months, and it leads to them sharing a night together. Cole tries again to tell her to let Daeja figure out her plan, but she refuses. Cole needs to decide if he is willing to let Kat go again or if he is going to go with her. They can’t talk more because they wake up to rebels.

Blackfell, a city close by, has been breached. Kat convinces Cole to let her go be the medic near the fight, and he agrees. Cole gets injured, and she is able to heal him before moving on in the fight. By the end, when everyone is grouped together, Archie is missing. Cole goes to look for him, and Kat guilt-trips Darien into searching as well. When Archie is found badly injured, Kat helps heal him with Margie’s assistance.

After the battle, Cole has been missing a lot and avoiding Kat. She decides to go talk to him. When she tries to kiss him, Cole tells her that he is engaged to a woman named Celeste. Kat feels betrayed, doesn’t want an explanation, and just wants out. She decides to go to Darien’s room, knowing he has a map to the Dragon Lands. But when she gets there, Darien is there. She decides to distract him with a kiss before stealing the map. But things change quickly, and the two end up sharing a passionate night together, which leads to immediate regret and guilt the next morning for Kat—and to make it worse, no map.

Kat continues to work on a plan, but one day things change when Celeste, Cole’s betrothed, shows up. Now Kat has to continue to be Cole’s sister, which means going dress shopping with Celeste. During this time, Kat believes that Celeste and Darien have a thing for each other, only to later realize they are half-siblings.

There is a party in the city. Kat gets all dressed up for the event and starts to have a good time—until Cole comes to her and tells her that they need to have a conversation. Luckily, she doesn’t have to have that conversation because Darien arrives to dance with her. Kat thought she could make it through the night, but when she sees Celeste try to kiss Cole, she can’t. She decides to get very drunk, which leads to Darien taking care of her.

It’s the week Kat is finally going to leave with Daeja. Cole knows as well and goes to talk to her. He tells her that when he first joined the military, he abandoned his post and was going to be seen as a traitor. The only reason he abandoned was because he felt bad for leaving Kat. But when he made it back home, Kat was dead from the house fire. When he went home, his father—who turns out isn’t actually his father—berated him for deserting his post. Cole was banished from his house and told he would not be able to see his sisters again. Cole then ran into an opportunity: power and money from a wealthy lord, as long as he promised to marry his daughter. Cole agreed. Kat doesn’t fully forgive him, but at least sees where he is coming from. Before she can respond, rebels attack. Even with the attack, she can’t quite leave, especially when a rebel is caught by Darien and he plans to kill her. Cole grabs the rebel and puts her in Kat’s hands, knowing it will be a way to the Dragon Lands. Kat helps the girl escape, but the rebels are coming for her anyway. Another attack is happening, and Cole and his men are outnumbered. Even though Daeja has the rebel and Margie on her back, Kat can’t leave. She tells Cole to retreat, he does, and when she finally gets a second to breathe, Kat realizes she has been badly injured and passes out.

She wakes up days later in an unknown place that she later finds out is the Dragon Lands. The rebel, who introduces herself as Tawney, is there to help Kat out. She is taken to the leader of the rebels, Sethan. Sethan and Cole, who is also at the Dragon Lands, have clearly been coming up with ideas, but they need Kat’s opinion. The first thing they need her opinion on is Darien. Darien is brought up looking haggard and beaten. She demands that he be released, but Sethan says they can’t just let the Prince of Arterias go.